1. Field
The slot machine according to one or more aspects of the present invention relates to a slot machine that has a display that displays a plurality of symbols and is adapted to award a payout based on a symbol combination displayed on the display.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, in a slot machine, which is one type of a gaming machine, a game is started by inserting coins, or the like, in the gaming machine. In the game, a symbol string is variably displayed in a predetermined area in the gaming machine, and after the lapse of a predetermined period of time, the symbol string is stopped and displayed. Then, a payout is awarded based on a combination of the symbols thus stopped.
Generally, whether or not a winning combination for which a payout is awarded is established is determined depending on whether a predetermined number of the same kind of symbols (for instance, “CHERRY” and “7”) are positioned along a pay line set in advance. Conventionally, if a predetermined number or more of the same kind of symbols are positioned, a payout was also awarded based on the number of symbols thus positioned, irrespective of the pay line.
Further, generally, a value of the payout to be awarded in case a winning combination for which a payout is awarded has been established is fixed to one kind with respect to one winning combination. A technology is also proposed in which this payout value can be changed. For instance, the specification of the U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,778B1 discloses a gaming machine in which one payout table can be selected, by an operator's operation, from a plurality of payout tables in which the value of the payout respectively differs with respect to the same winning combination, and a determination is made on whether the payout tables comply with regulations.
However, although in the conventional slot machine described above, it is possible to change the value of the payout which is associated to the same winning combination by modifying the payout table, between identical payout tables, the value of the payout is fixed to one value.
Many progressive slot machines adapt a so-called progressive payout according to which a portion of the gaming values consumed in the slot machine during a game are accumulated and gaming values which have been accumulated till the present are awarded at one time if a predetermined condition is satisfied (for instance, a predetermined symbol(s) is(are) stopped on the pay line). However, the above-described conventional slot machine is not compatible with the above-mentioned progressive payout, resulting in a lack of flexibility.
The object of the present invention is to provide a slot machine in which the value of the award can be variously modified while being versatile as far as application to slot machines having a progressive payout is concerned, thereby improving the entertainment characteristic.